A 4-year-old Arkansas boy with autism was taken off from a Spirit Airlines flight Monday because he wasn’t wearing a mask, despite having a doctor’s note that the airline had accepted on the flight to their destination.
The experience devastated little Carter Kimball, his mother says.
What are the details?
KTHV-TV spoke to Callie Kimball, who told the outlet that her husband and son, Carter, were kicked off their return flight via Dallas after visiting family in Las Vegas.
Callie explained that she and her husband have flown several times with Carter, who is severely autistic, non-verbal and loves airplanes.
Carter’s doctor gave them a letter to take on the trip, explaining that Carter is exempt from mask mandates because of his disability. According to Callie, when Carter wears a mask “he starts to panic”, “he will hold his breath” and “he will hurt himself.”
She said the Little Rock family has always flew with Spirit Airlines and never had a problem until Monday, when an airline employee told them that ‘autism is not a disability’ and ‘that he should wear a mask or that he has. done’. to get off the plane. ”
To make matters worse, while Carter and his father were kicked off, the airline did not allow Carter’s nanny – who traveled with them to help with Carter – get off the plane with them.
Stranded in Dallas, the father and son were able to take a flight home from American Airlines for $ 1,000 out of pocket, and American accepted Carter’s medical bill. But the Kimball family has no money so far for the Spirit return flight they were thrown off, and the airline has not responded to their refund request.
“So we lost all our flights, a thousand dollars and we have a son who is just distraught after throwing all his planes down,” the mother told KTHV.
Something else?
Carter isn’t the first young autistic child to have problems with Spirit Airlines.
Last September, a Chicago family said the airline had sent them a letter banning 3-year-old Cebastian Lewis after continuing to remove his mask on a return flight home.
During a layover, the family said, Spirit employees took the entire plane off the plane and filed a police report against the family.
According to WFLD-TV, Spirit argued that the family used blasphemy and did not cooperate.
Regardless, the outlet reported:
Spirit issued a statement saying they needed face coverings throughout the flight. The only exceptions are children under 2 years old. Travelers who cannot wear them for any reason, including medical purposes, cannot fly with Spirit.